Miami supplants Clemson as No. 2 in playoff rankings
Tigers tumble to No. 3; Tide remains No. 1
For the better part of the last month, the mantra at Miami has been the same.
As each version of the College Football Playoff rankings have been unveiled, some of the Hurricanes have paused momentarily to take notice. Then they’ve shrugged their shoulders and gone back to work. Others haven’t even bothered to watch at all as the rankings are unveiled every week.
Hurricanes coach Mark Richt has set this tone for his players and assistant coaches, noting more than once that as long as Miami keeps winning, the rankings and playoff picture will take care of itself. There are still games to play, including Friday’s at Pittsburgh, and as long as that’s the case, it’s not where Miami stands now that will determine its postseason fate.
That said, in Coral Gables, there may be a sigh of relief — and maybe even a little bit of pride — after Miami not only held on to its spot in the top four of the rankings despite a slow start and a scare against Virginia this past Saturday, but moved up in the rankings.
Miami, which rallied twice to earn a 44-28 win over the Cavaliers and remains unbeaten entering the final week of the regular season, rose a spot to No. 2 in the updated CFP rankings, jumping Clemson, which had held that spot last week despite a loss to Syracuse earlier in the year.
Alabama remains No. 1; Oklahoma took the No. 4 slot.
When it comes to how the 13-member College Football Playoff committee determines where it opts to rank teams, there, too, the Hurricanes (10-0) say they are paying little attention.
Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown said Tuesday he planned to spend the evening with his family, adding that once he’s home, he tunes out football matters to focus on his wife and three young sons.
Richt, meanwhile, said there’s little he can do to control when it comes to
what others think of the Hurricanes, so he plans to try and get some rest and focus his energy on developing the best game plan to beat Pittsburgh.
“It doesn’t matter what I think, so I don’t worry about it. I’ve learned to just try to control, focus on the things I can control and the things I can’t, just don’t worry about them,” Richt said. “Trust God
with everything else. It’s a good way to go.”
Georgia, Notre Dame,
Ohio State, Penn State and Southern California followed in the same order as they did last week. Over the next two weeks, every team in the top nine will play another team ranked in the committee’s top 25, including four games matching top playoff contenders.